Tony Awards Highlights 2016

This year I watched the Tony Awards a day late since it fell out on a Jewish holiday called Shavuot. I love Shavuot, but this year it was hard knowing that my favorite award show was going on and I couldn’t watch it. But the second Shavuot was over and I had a chance to watch, I was not disappointed. James Corden was a perfect host and was very funny. Loved the “Grease” part in this video:

I also appreciated that the show was in memory of those for were killed in Orlando. The silver ribbons everyone was wearing added a lot, and I wish I had one to wear while I was watching.

One of my favorite performances was one featuring Carmen Cusack and the cast of “Bright Star.” I loved that Steve Martin and Edie Brickell introduced them. The onstage band is so cool and they have that on a Broadway stage, which rocks! Do yourself a favor and go see it!

This performance is just a small part of the greatness of the whole show.

Another favorite: a performance featuring Alex Brightman and the cast of “School of Rock.” They performed “You’re in the Band,” which gave each kid a chance to shine and show their musical talent. Evie Dolan rocked her bass face and Isabella Russo looked so happy to be band manager. Alex Brightman reminded us at the end of the performance that the Tony Awards aren’t only to win, but to share with the world ALL of the amazing shows Broadway has to offer to a multitude of audiences. “School of Rock” is a fantastic show that will appeal to “kids” of all ages. (Read full review here.)

Don’t wait—run to the Winter Garden Theater and get ready to ROCK!

And let’s not forget “Spring Awakening.” I was so happy to see them back together on stage. This show is no longer on Broadway, but that didn’t top them from rocking out on the Tony stage. Seeing Katie Boeck and Sandra Mae Frank back together again had me beaming with pride. As of someone who saw the show multiple times when it was on Broadway, it was interesting to see how certain signs were changed even though certain lyrics were not changed, to ‘censor’ them for public television. I also loved seeing Kathryn Gallagher rocking on her guitar, and Alex Boniello singing “The Bitch of Living” — seriously the best song in the show. So happy they had a chance to shine on the Tony Awards.

The bumpers they had between breaks were amazing. I really liked the one with Sara Bareilles, Steve Martin, Edie Brickel, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
It was really cute, and the Spring Awakening one was really good. Also Kathryn Gallagher got to sing (and sign) something from “Hair”.

When Cynthia Erivo from “The Color Purple” won, I was really happy for her. I just saw “The Color Purple” — she is powerhouse. I wasn’t wild about “Hamilton” sweeping the board – but it was expected. It just was *not* my favorite musical this year (I know, sacrilege!), but I was really excited when Leslie Odom Jr. from “Hamilton” won, because I watched him on Smash and he is a sweetheart. Then there was a great performance featuring Sara Bareilles, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jessie Mueller, Jeremy Morse, and the rest of the cast of “Waitress.” (It was also very heartwarming to see Keri Russell announce their performance since the movie the show is based off of is turning 10 years old next year!)

Best Musical: “Hamilton”Best Revival of a Musical: “The Color Purple”Best Play: “The Humans”Best Revival of a Play: “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”Best Lead Actor in a Musical: Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton”Best Lead Actress in a Musical: Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple”Best Lead Actor in a Play: Frank Langella, “The Father”Best Lead Actress in a Play: Jessica Lange, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”Best Featured Actress in a Play: Jayne Houdyshell, “The Humans”Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Renee Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”Best Featured Actor in a Play: Reed Birney, “The Humans”Best Original Score: “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel MirandaBest Book of a Musical: “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel MirandaBest Direction of a Play: Ivo Van Hove, “Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge”Best Direction of a Musical: Thomas Kail, “Hamilton”Best Orchestrations: Alex Lacamoire, “Hamilton”Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Howell Binkley, “Hamilton”Best Lighting Design of a Play: Natasha Katz, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”Best Scenic Design of a Musical: David Rockwell, “She Loves Me”Best Scenic Design of a Play: David Zinn, “The HumansBest Costume Design of a Musical: Paul Tazewell, “Hamilton”Best Costume Design of a Play: Clint Ramos, “Eclipsed”Best Choreography: Andy Blankenbuehler, “Hamilton”

Thank you Meg Warshaw for taking over my twitter you did a great job! Follow her.

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